In a press conference following the Council of Ministers, where the Government Program was approved, António Leitão Amaro outlined that state reform will focus on “the reform of public administration and the state business sector.”
When asked if this reform entails cuts, the minister assured, “the answer is no”: “It’s not about layoffs, and it’s not cutting salaries,” he stated, noting that this reform is being undertaken “at a time that is not a financial emergency.”
Although there are no planned layoffs, the minister acknowledged that in some observatories and entities there are “confusions” and duplications, predicting more mergers of entities, similar to what has happened in the general secretariats and the Ministry of Finance, where three new authorities were created from the merger of some agencies.
Leitão Amaro announced that, aside from sectoral chapters, the Government Program consists of ten axes and dimensions regarded as “fundamental transformations for the country,” one of which is the state reform.
This reform includes four areas: simplification of procedures, digitalization of the State and Public Administration (PA), review and organic reform of PA structures, and a new human resources policy for PA workers aimed at valuing merit and performance qualifications.
The minister further stated that “the logic of this reform is one of valuing public workers,” and when queried about pay raises for these workers, he indicated that the income policy “includes objectives and decisions to strengthen the minimum and average wage and the logic of appreciation in public service, which continues to review careers while also driving the appreciation of results and performance.”
Leitão Amaro recalled a multi-annual agreement established at the end of last year between the Government and the structures representing public service workers with a “logic of transversal increase.”
[Updated at 7:17 PM]
